Brake for street-railway cars



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. LESSARD. BRAKE P03 STREET RAILWAY CARS. No. 578,646. Patented Mar. 9,1897. *1 g x w IN! I) P a -uz1 Q *1 lllllllllll mn-ggnummu jlmmm'firewall? Zwaral,

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No odel.)

,J. LESSAR'D. BRAKE FOR STREET RAILWAY GARS.

No. 578,646. Patented Mar. 9, 1897.

fweiz fwf Eremz'eIea/sarflZ.

z NORRIS Pain; 00.. PHOTO-4mm wummvou n c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JEREMIE LESSARD, OF COHOES, NEW YORK.

BRAKE FOR STREET-RAILWAY CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 578,646, dated March 9,1897. Application filed June 2, 1896. Serial No. 594,003. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J EREMIE LEssARD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cohoes, in the county of Albany and State of New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Brakes for Street-Railway Cars,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to brakes for streetrailway cars; and it consistsin features of construction and novel combination of devices in acar-brake, as hereinafter more particularly described and claimed.

In the annexed drawings, illustrating the invention, Figure 1 is a sideelevation of-a portion of a street-car provided with myimproved brakemechanism. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan of the same. Fig. 3 is a verticallongitudinal section of the same. Fig. 4 is a detail plan of thepawl-and-ratchet mechanism and connections removed from the car.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the wheel-truck, 2the car-wheels, and 3 the car-platforms, with dashboards 4, as usual.

The brake-shoes 5 are suspended at their upper ends from pivots 6,supported by the truck. There are two brake-shoes on each side of thetruck between and adjacent to the car-wheels of each side, and theseshoes are so suspended that they are normally held out of contact withthe wheels by the force of gravity. shaped to conform 'to the peripheryof a carwheel, and its opposite edge is somewhat inclined orwedge-shaped, the shoe being thickened toward its upper end.

At the inner side of and close to the carwheels are rock-shafts 7, eachof which is journaled in suitable bearings 8 beneath one side of thecar-truck. These parallel rock-.

shafts 7 are each provided on its outer side with a pair of cam-lugs 9,so constructed and arranged that when a rock-shaft is turned in theproper direction the cam-lugs 9 thereon will be swung upward between andin forcible contact with the beveled or inclined edges of thebrake-shoes 5, so as to press the shoes against the carwheels to arrestor retard their movement. The cam-lugs 9 are each beveled or inclined onthe side next to the brake-shoe, so as to have a wedging engage- Eachbrake-shoe has one edge ment with the shoe in forcing it against thewheel-periphery.

Each rock-shaft 7 is provided near one end with a vertically-projectingarm 10, against the inner side of which is arranged to bear a spring 11,attached to the inner side of a longitudiual portion of the truck-frame.When either rock-shaft 7 is turned or oscillated to apply the brakes onone side of the car, the rock-shaft arm 10 will force the spring 11backward, and the instant that the rockshaft is released the spring 11,acting on said arm 10, will cause the rock-shaft to assume its normalposition and permit the brakeshoes 5 to swing away from the car-wheels.

It is obvious that any suitable arrangement of spring may be employed toreturn the rock-shaft to its normal position when released.

One of the two rock-shafts 7 is extended beneath the forward platform ofthe car and the other rock-shaft is extended beneath the rear platform.To this extended end of each rockshaft 7 is secured anupwardly-projecting lever 12, which is connected by a chain 13 to apulley 14 on the ordinary vertical brake-spin- 'dle 15, journaled inbearings 16 and 17, adjacent to the dashboard. The upper end of thespindle is provided with the usual operating-crank 18, and on a lowerportion of the spindle is carried a ratchet-wheel 19 for engagement witha pawl 20, that is connected with a foot-lever-2l on the car-platform. Astop 22 may be provided to limit the retractile movement of the pawl 20under the action of a spring 23, that returns the lever 21 to nor malposition when the pawl is disengaged from the ratchet-wheel 19 by aslight forward push on the spindle-crank.

It will be observed that the two rock-shafts 7 are entirely independentof each other, and

that they are separately operated from the thereby turn the connectedrock-shaft 7, so

, engagement with the ratchet-wheel 19 and thereby lock the brakes. Bynow pushing the crank 18 slightly forward the ratchet wheel 19 will bedisengaged from the pawl 20, and the latter will then be returned byspring 23 to normal position. On thus releasing the chain 13, lever 12,and rock-shaft 7 the spring 11 will oscillate the rock-shaft to releasethe cam-lugs 9 from wedging engagement with the brake-shoes, and thelatter, acted on by gravity, will swing away from the car-wheels andleave them in clear running order.

The lever 12 may be extended vertically and provided at its upper endwith a handle 24, by which the said lever may be operated for thepurpose of applying or releasing the brakes in case the chain 13 shouldbe broken. This is a valuable advantage, as it does not leave thecar-operator wholly dependent on the ordinary cranked spindle as a meansfor controlling the brakes. It is preferable, however, to provide thecar with both the lever 12 and spindle 15, as shown. By the operation ofeither rock-shaft 7 the brakes will be applied to the wheels of one sideonly, but this will of course block the wheels on both sides of the car,all the wheels being rigid with their axles, as usual.

It will be observed that no brake-beams are employed, all thebrake-shoes being separately suspended from the car-truek independent ofeach other and so pivoted at their upper ends as to normally hang clearof the car-wheels, but in such proximity thereto as to be capable ofinstantaneous blocking engagement with the wheels when acted on by thecam-lugs carried by the two rock-shafts.

The brakes can be easily and quickly applied and released, and themechanism comprises only a few parts, all of which are of such simpleconstruction and arrangement that they are not liable to become brokenor disarranged.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. In a car-brake, the combination withthe brake-shoes pivotally suspended from the cartruck, ofalongitudinally-arranged rock-shaft journaled beneath one side of thetruck close to the inner sides of the car-wheels and provided withcam-lugs adapted to have awedging engagement with the said brake-shoesto force them against the wheels, substantially as described.

2. In a car-brake, the combination with the brake-shoes pivotallysuspended from the cartruck, of a longitudinally-arranged rock-shaftjournaled beneath one side of the truck close to the inner sides of thecar-wheels and provided with outwardly projecting cam lugs adapted tohave a wedging engagement with the said brake-shoes to force themagainst the wheels, an operating-lever connected with one end of saidrockshaft, and means for lockin g the brakes, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a car-brake, the combination with the brake-shoes pivotallysuspended from the cartruck,of a rock-shaft j ournaled longitudinallybeneath one side of the truck close to the inner sides of the car-wheelsand provided with cam-lugs adapted to have a direct wedging engagementwith the said brake-shoes to force them against the wheels, means forlocking the brakes and rock-shaft, and a spring for returning therock-shaft to normal position when released, substantially as described.

4. In a car-brake, the combination with the brake-shoes pivotallysuspended from the cartruck, of a rock-shaftjournaled longitudinallybeneath. one side of the truck close to the inner sides of thecar-wheels and provided with cam-lugs adapted to have a wedgingengagement directly with the said brake-shoes to force them against thewheels, means for operating and locking said rock-shaft, an arm carriedby the rock-shaft, and a spring adapted to act on said arm to return therockshaft to normal position when released, substantially as described.I v

5. In a car-brake, the combination with the brake-shoes pivotallysuspended from the cartruek, of a rock-shaft journaled beneath the truckadjacent to the inner sides of the carwheels and provided with cam-lugsadapted to have a wedging engagement with the said brake-shoes to forcethem against the wheels, a lever on one end of said rock-shaft, acranked spindle provided with a pulley, a chainconnecting said pulleywith the lever on the rockshaft, pawl-and-ratchet mechanism to lock thespindle, and a foot-lever to control said -pawl-and-ratchet mechanism,substantially as described.

6. In a car-brake, the combination with the brakeshoes pivotallysuspended from the car- .truck on each side, of twolongitudinallyarranged rock-shafts journaled beneath opposite sides ofthe truck adjacent to the inner sides of the car-wheels, cam-lugscarried on said rock-shafts and adapted to have direct wedgingengagement with the said brakeshoes to force them against the wheels,and means for operating said rock-shafts separately from opposite endsof the car, substantially as described. 7

7. In a car-brake, the combination with the brake-shoes pivotallysuspended from the cartruck on each side, of two rock-shafts journaledbeneath the truck adjacent to the inner sides of the car-wheels, one ofsaid rock-shafts being extended beneath the forward platform and theother beneath the rear platform, camlugs carried on said rock-shafts andadapted to have wedging engagement with the said brake-shoes to forcethem against the wheels,

my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

J EREMIE LESSARD.

Witnesses:

O. VAN DER 000K, LUKE HARRIGAN.

